Torch will go through Tibet, Rogge insists

Published on Friday 11 April 2008 21:46

THE Olympic torch will be paraded through Tibet as planned, the Games chief insisted last night as a huge security operation surrounded the Argentine leg of the tour.

The flame was hidden as anti-China activists gathered in the capital, Buenos Aires, promising a "surprise".

Protests over China's human rights record and its harsh rule in Tibet disrupted the torch's progress through London, Paris and San Francisco this week.

Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, insisted yesterday: "We have agreed to a route for the torch that goes through Tibet and this is the position confirmed by the International Olympic Committee."

Yesterday Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Nobel Peace laureate, said she had pulled out of the relay when the torch reaches Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, tomorrow, in protest at human rights abuses.

She said: "I thought the torch will be a symbol of unity, peace and harmony, but as it moved around the world it has become a symbol of disunity. Then I decided to pull out completely."

Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's prime minister, warned that

the Chinese saw the protests as an affront during what should be "China's coming-out party, to celebrate its progress" and opening up to the world.

He said: "The people of China believe (protesters] want to inflict maximum humiliation on China and the Chinese people."

Mr Lee said this could have "consequences" after the Games.

In Buenos Aires, nearly 6,000 police and volunteers were deployed to protect the torch over its nine-mile route.

Falun Gong supporters lit a "human rights torch" to protest at China's ban on the spiritual anti-torture movement. Others held up "Free Tibet" banners. China supporters in red shirts rallied outside the presidential palace.

It reaches Hong Kong on 2 May to start an extensive tour of China, including Shannan Diqu and Lhasa in Tibet in June.

Mr Rogge said he was confident athletes would not boycott the Olympics even though world leaders such as Gordon Brown and Ban Ki Moon, the UN secretary-general, would not be at the opening ceremony.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, will follow suit; Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, is considering staying away; and George Bush, the US president, is under increasing pressure to do likewise.

Mr Rogge said: "Public opinion around the world does not want any boycotts." He said participants could protest so long as they did not break the law.